He’d known she was okay. He’d even talked to the doc to make sure everything would be fine.
He’d wanted everything to be perfect when he saw Gemma again. But now he wondered if he hadn’t screwed up. What if she didn’t like what he’d done? What if she was pissed that he hadn’t stayed here with her?
Just for a second he hesitated, falling back into old habits. But he was done with that. If she was pissed, she could yell at him and he would take it. The one thing he wouldn’t do was let her go.
He pushed through the door, and his heart swelled as he saw Gemma buttoning up Jesse’s shirt. He was grumbling something about being able to do it himself, but Cade noticed he wasn’t trying too hard.
Gemma’s eyes came up. “Cade.”
Jesse turned, too, his eyes a little harder. “You came back.”
“I never left.”
Jesse stood. “She’s been in the hospital for two days and you’ve only been to see her once.”
Yep. He’d fucked up. And he’d been evasive about why he wasn’t around. He’d wanted to make it a surprise.
“That’s not true.” Gemma turned to him. “He’s come in the middle of the night. My mom told me he came that first night, but left before I woke up, and then I seem to remember having a little dream last night. It wasn’t a dream was it?”
She’d woken up, groggy and so tired she couldn’t stand it. He’d been sitting there watching her. He’d tucked her back in and cuddled her back to sleep. He was kind of glad she remembered. He’d had to leave early. He’d had to go all the way to Colorado Springs to do what he needed to do.
“Where the hell have you been?” Jesse didn’t seem impressed. He got to his feet with no trouble.
Cade hoped that was the case because he’d already talked to Doc Burke and Gemma was in the clear for some playtime. Turned out the doctor had kept her in the hospital more for Jesse’s sake than her own.
But Gemma still looked fragile. Maybe he should just take her home and put her in bed.
“Are you going to answer me?” Jesse asked.
“Stop.” Gemma got between the two of them but not the way Cade wanted her. “He’s here. Let’s just let him be.”
“I don’t know that’s going to work for me.” Jesse’s eyes were lasers threatening to take Cade out. “I wanted a partner, not someone who just shows up for sex every now and then.”
He deserved that so he didn’t put a fist through Jesse’s face. “I’ve been in Colorado Springs taking out a couple of loans. And you might have only wanted one partner, but now you have two.”
“What?”
This was the part that hopefully didn’t get him killed. He was making a lot of decisions that he probably shouldn’t be making, but he needed them to know he was in. “We’re buying into Long-Haired Roger’s shop. He’s agreed. It’s going to be Roger and Sons from now on. I know we’re not really his sons, but he says he thinks of us that way and he can’t leave the business to Princess Two. Though he tried. If he outlives that dog, you should know she becomes our legal property and there’s a whole list of crap that animal needs including something about expressing some sort of sac that sounds god awful. Let’s just keep Roger alive.”
“How did you do that?” Jesse stared at him, his mouth slightly open in shock.
“Well, first off, I sold the Camaro.”
Jesse gasped. “Your dad’s car? But you’ve kept that for years. You spent so much time rebuilding it. Why would you do that?”
“To pay off Gemma’s medical bills before I left town for good.”
They both started talking at once. Jesse promising a good ass kicking and Gemma trying to give him logic.
“Stop. I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere. But once I figured out Gemma’s bills had been paid, I thought I should put the money to better use. So I talked to Roger, and we’ll go full time and he’s going to start taking more jobs, including restoration jobs and custom bikes. We’re buying the new equipment we need. Roger gives up the space to work. And”—he took a deep breath—“I also bought Holly Lang’s old cabin. Doc Burke bought a big place on the mountain as an engagement present and they moved in yesterday. We still owe a lot on it, but it’s ours and it came fully furnished.”
They both just stared, and Cade sincerely hoped they weren’t just going to walk out on him. He talked as quickly as he could, praying they would listen. “Look, if you don’t like it we can always talk to Doc, and he’ll probably give us the down payment back, but I like the valley and I think it’s a great place. The cabin is small, but when we’re ready, we can add on. We have river access and the views are spectacular, and Gemma’s mom is right down the road and it’s normally fairly safe and it’s not far from work.”
“Shut up.” Gemma stared at him intently.
He closed his mouth, looking at Jesse, whose frown had been replaced with a big smile. But Gemma kept staring at him.
“You really bought us a cabin of our own?” she asked.
“Yeah. I know I should have talked about it, but someone else was interested and I had to move fast and…”
“Shut up.”
He stopped.
Gemma walked up to him, her lips curving in a smile. “Well, then, Cade Sinclair. I suspect you should take us home.”
One more damn confession. This was the worst of all. “I traded the bike for a car. A piece-of-crap, probably-will-break-down-in-a-heartbeat Jeep.”
“You traded your Harley?”
He shrugged. “Gemma, I bought that bike as a symbol. I was going to be free. But I don’t want to be free and you can’t put a baby seat on the back of a bike. And the three of us can’t ride together on a bike, so I traded it in. Got a horrible deal, really.”
Her smile nearly lit up his world. “Well, you’ll have to let me do the negotiating from now on. Won’t you?”
He would give it all up to her. “Damn straight.”
“Speaking of negotiations, so let me see, you come with a tiny cabin, a half-baked business idea, a shitty Jeep, and a ton of debt.”
Yeah, put that way he didn’t sound like a premier catch. Still. “Marry me.”
She tilted her head up. “You know I never turn down a good deal. Yes.”
He kissed her soundly as Jesse slapped him on the back and joined in.
Chapter Twenty
Gemma sighed as Cade carried her over the threshold of their brand-new, slightly ragged, and all-theirs cabin. This place was hers. A place to build on. A place to raise their family.
“I get to carry her next time,” Jesse groused as he followed behind, but there was a smile on his face that belied his words.
“I’m only carrying her this time because I’m not the one who got shot.”
“Fine, next time you get to be shot.”
God, she hoped there wasn’t a next time. “Stop talking about the very scary past and kiss me.”
Cade set her on her feet, and his lips brushed hers. “Love you, G.”
Just like that her world went dreamy and everything seemed more beautiful than it had been before. “Love you, too.”
Jesse rested his head against hers, his front cradling her back. “I love you so much. We both do.”
He and Cade exchanged a long look. It was a look between partners, one she couldn’t ever hope to fully understand, but she appreciated it. It meant they would love her and take care of her and share the burdens and joys that came with being a family.
She looked around, and Cade had been busy with more than just the bank. “You moved everything in here.” Her pictures were already up. She had no doubt all their clothes had been brought in and put away. Instant home from her side, but for Cade it had been hours and hours of work. For her. For them.
“I wanted us to be able to get to the good part.” Cade lifted her up again, cradling her in his arms.
“Damn straight, partner. I haven’t been inside her for days. I couldn’t get her to do it in the hospital.” Jesse followed behind a
s Cade made his way to the bedroom.
Jesse had tried. As soon as he could walk freely, he’d been in her bed, kissing and teasing and nearly tearing his tiny stitches. “You were shot a couple of days ago.”
“In the gut, baby. Not in the cock. The cock is perfectly fine and ready to go.” Jesse had the biggest grin on that handsome face. He hadn’t seen a razor in days, and it looked so hot on him.
“Gemma, are you in charge in the bedroom?” Cade asked, his voice harder than she could remember. His jaw was a gorgeous hard line.
She didn’t want to be in charge in the bedroom. Everywhere else, yeah. She was that kind of girl. But not here. Here she wanted her men to be in control. Both of them. “No, I’m not.”
Cade kicked open the door to their bedroom. He’d been hard at work here, too. She nearly cried at the sight of the bed. It was covered with a pretty quilt and strewn with wildflowers. Purple blossoms made a lovely pattern across the bed. She’d been given beautiful flowers before, but these had been picked by his hand especially for her. These were the loveliest thing she’d ever seen.
“You’re not in charge. And you would do well to remember that, baby.” He set her on her feet. “And I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Jesse’s health. I talked to Doc, who is way too comfortable talking about this shit. I’m serious. He will throw down some sex talk, man. Unfortunately, being on the bottom would be rough on him.”
Jesse fist pumped. “I have always wanted to fuck that pretty ass. Yes.”
“Yep, Doc suggested you take the anal. In those words.”
Gemma’s whole face went up in flames. Caleb Burke knew way too much about her sex life and that was okay. Anything was okay as long as she got what she needed, and what she needed was to be between her men.
Jesse’s eyes went dark, his voice a deep, sensual temptation. “Take off those clothes. Now.”
She wasn’t about to refuse him. Or Cade. They were her heroes. Her future. Her husbands. She slowly pulled off her T-shirt, revealing the utilitarian lines of her bra. She would have been self-conscious before, believing she needed to think and act a certain way to be sexy, but they had taught her all she needed to be was herself. That was the way it worked when people were in love.
She dropped the shirt and unhooked the bra, reveling in the way they looked at her. Hungry, loving predators waiting to eat her up.
“Fuck, I can’t wait.” Jesse moved in, his hand going to her breasts.
Cade started shedding his clothes, too. “And I want to start going to Mountain and Valley every now and then. I like being naked. I really like being naked with Gemma.”
Jesse got to his knees, his mouth closing over a nipple. He sucked it in hard, tonguing her.
Cade moved that gorgeous body of his around to her back, his fingers catching on the waist of her jeans. “Time for these to go, baby. You won’t need clothes tonight.”
“Maybe for a while,” Jesse agreed.
Cade dragged her jeans down her hips, his palms molding every inch of her. “We are going to fuck you so hard, G. You’ve never been fucked quite like we’re going to fuck you tonight.”
One in her pussy. One in her ass. All of her surrounded by her men. Her pussy responded to the idea, pulsing and aching, getting slippery wet.
Cade forced the jeans off, helping her balance before shoving them to the side. He came back up, gently turning her head to the side and taking her mouth in a ravenous kiss. His tongue plunged in, rubbing against hers as Jesse bit her nipple, an erotic little pain.
When Cade came up for air, he looked down at his partner. “How should we get this woman of ours ready for taking us?”
A slow, slightly sadistic, completely sexy smile crossed Jesse’s lips. “Oh, we need to warm her up.”
Cade’s hand slid to her backside, cupping the cheeks of her ass and squeezing. “You heard the man, Gemma. On the floor. Hands and knees.”
A little shiver went through her as she dropped down in front of Jesse. When she was on her knees, Jesse tangled his hand in her hair, forcing her head back. “You’re mine. Say it. Say you belong to Jesse McCann.”
Such a damn Neanderthal. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. She was done with polite, passionless partnerships. She wanted this. She wanted everything they could give her. “I belong to Jesse McCann.”
There was a sharp slap to her backside as Cade growled a little. “You left something out, baby.”
Well, of course she had. “And Cade. I belong to Cade Sinclair.”
She didn’t need to ask who they belonged to. She knew. They’d been hers before she’d thought to ask. They had given her so much, taught her how to love, what was really worth fighting for. They had brought her back to life.
“Damn straight. Now get that pretty ass in the air.”
Jesse moved, drawing off his clothes. Gemma turned her eyes up, not wanting to miss a moment of the show. Jesse’s body was all lean muscle and tight flesh. Her eyes caught on the small, puckered scar a few inches below his ribs on the right side. He’d almost died. One more bullet and he would be gone.
Jesse looked down at her, her eyes softening for a moment. “I’m all right now, darlin’. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be right here with you for the rest of our lives. And that’s a promise.”
And Jesse McCann kept his promises.
And he’d been right about his dick. It showed absolutely no evidence of any damage to that part of his body. His cock stood straight up, long and thick and proud. All of that was for her.
“Eyes front, darling.”
But she was happy looking at his cock.
“Cade?”
Smack. She nearly screamed at the nice slap Cade gave her ass. Heat flushed through her system, lighting up her every nerve. She moved her eyes to the front, focusing on the wall of the bedroom. Cade had moved her little bookshelf over, carefully placing all her legal books back in the exact way she’d had them.
“Now that’s better. Cade, have you ever seen a more perfect ass than this?”
“Never in all my travels. This is absolutely the prettiest ass I’ve seen. Spread your knees, G. I want to be able to see your pussy, too.”
She widened her stance, cool air brushing against her hot, pink parts. Her pussy wanted, waiting for the moment when they would fill her up.
“There it is.” Jesse’s voice washed over her. He was close. She couldn’t see him, but it felt like he was on his knees behind her, so close to her skin. She gasped as his fingertips brushed her pussy, causing her to wiggle a little. “Cade.”
Smack. He slapped her other cheek, his hand sending heat through her. The initial feel was shocking, painful, and then it sank in like a dark temptation. Cade smacked her ass twice more, moving around, spreading the heat. “Don’t move, Gemma. This is our playtime.”
Hers, too. She needed this after all the days of worry and the horror of that night. She needed to float away to a nice, safe place. She forced herself to be still when all she wanted to do was force Jesse’s fingers deep inside her cunt.
“That’s better. This is what we want, darlin’. We want our hell-raising Gemma, but here, we want our sweet little plaything.” Jesse’s fingers made soft patterns across her exposed pussy. “And you like it like this. At least your pussy does. Look at all that juice.”
Her pussy was wet. So wet. It had been since the minute she’d realized they could make love. And Jesse was right. She’d missed this side of herself, longed for it. She’d always wanted this, but hadn’t found anyone to share it with.
“See what a good girl gets,” Cade said just before she felt the heat of a mouth closing over her pussy.
It took everything she had not to scream and thrust back, but all she would have gotten was another smack and then that deeply talented tongue would be gone. She wouldn’t do anything to make that tongue go away.
Cade’s tongue. She knew that because Jesse spoke. “I hope you brought everything we needed.”
“Nightstand,” Cade said briefly, before plunging back in.
He licked at her labia, dragging his tongue from her clit to the bottom of her pussy before plundering inside. He fucked her with his tongue, taking her higher and higher.
“Come for me. Come on, G. Give it to me.” He thrust his tongue back in, fucking her in smooth strokes while he fingered her clit.
Gemma let go. The orgasm rushed along her skin.
“That’s what I wanted.” The warmth of Cade’s tongue fled. “Now it’s time to get this pretty ass ready.”
She shivered as one of her men held her cheeks open while the other dribbled cool lubricant right onto her asshole.
“You’re going to grip me so good, darlin’. I can’t wait to fuck this ass.” Jesse’s fingers slipped over her tight hole.
Cade got to his knees in front of her. “I’m going to give you something to focus on while Jesse gets your asshole ready for his cock. Come on, baby, suck me down.”
His cock came into view, decadent and delicious with a nice drop of cream on top. Jesse rimmed her asshole, the sensation so dark she had to force herself to breathe. She leaned over and licked the tangy pre-cum off Cade’s cockhead. She was rewarded with a long groan of pleasure.
“I love the way you suck cock, G.”
She did it like she did everything else. She gave it her all. She lapped at the head and then concentrated on sucking him down. Over and over she whirled her tongue around as she sucked down and then up, glorying in the sounds he made.
All the while, Jesse pressed his fingers in, opening her wider and wider. She was stretched by his fingers, forcing her open.
His finger finally slipped in, and Jesse fucked her ass, readying her.
Cade’s fingers gripped her hair as she brought him to the back of her throat, ready to taste his cum.
Cade pulled out, his breath sawing in and out of his chest. “Not tonight, G. Tonight, I’m coming in your pussy. Come on.”
Cade pulled her up, drawing her close as she heard Jesse retreat to the bathroom. “You’re everything to me, Gemma. I love you. You’re it for me.”